Living in a news desert has its perks.
I can go to the grocery store without anyone recognizing me. If I have to call my township’s offices about a resident concern, I don’t have to worry that I know the person taking my call at the other end through a story I’ve written.
When I initially moved to Barrie about seven years ago to take a job out of the Barrie Examiner, my husband and I lived in an apartment on Anne Street.
However, when the time came to purchase a house, we decided it prudent to explore options outside of city limits. We settled on a home in Angus, which is still a reasonable 15-minute drive from the city, but with much lower taxes, less traffic and more house than we would have got for the same price in Barrie.
It seemed like a win-win. That was, until I needed to know anything about my new community.
There is a small weekly paper in my neck of the woods, and it does a decent job covering the municipality on its masthead (not Essa), but Essa Township is usually an afterthought, with stories about the township – if any – buried in the back.
To be honest, it usually goes right into my recycle bin.
This means that residents of my township typically have to turn to dreaded Facebook community groups for any information about what is happening locally, and most of the time that information is questionable.
During normal times, I can still get by as I can use my own skills to keep tabs on most things. However the dangers of relying on gossip groups have been amplified during COVID-19, especially in Angus.
I’ve kept an eye on Essa Township’s COVID case counts since I noticed our numbers ticked higher as the pandemic has progressed. As of this writing, Essa has had 146 cases since March, which blows our neighbours’ numbers out of the water. This is especially notable because there are no long-term care homes in Essa, which is a big contributor to case counts in other rural municipalities.
In Angus proper, we have had cases of COVID at all four of our schools. Two of those schools have had official outbreaks declared by the health unit. There were COVID cases at our Tim Hortons and an outbreak at our McDonald’s. In a small town, these are the only places you can get drive-thru coffee.
Rumours run rampant on community Facebook groups, but at the same time, there is a general feeling of apathy.
‘If there were REALLY a major problem, we’d hear about it, right?’ – This is what I imagine people in my community think.
“I heard there are outbreaks because someone from Brampton came up for Thanksgiving and infected everyone,” says one pseudonymed commenter with a cartoon as their avatar.
“Masks are clearly useless. Why don’t you IDIOTS do some REAL research? COVID is fake,” says another.
Meanwhile, I hear about 50 kids and their parents all playing together in close proximity – no social distancing or masking – in the park across the street from my house from my office window as local numbers tick higher.
I have a few friends in my neighbourhood who know I work for a local online newspaper.
During the last municipal election, a couple of them wandered up to my door to ask me who I thought they should vote for, as there were no candidate profiles for them to read or in-person debates to watch. In true journalistic fashion, I gave them a rundown of the positions of each of the key players and suggested they reach out to the candidates or even invite them over for a visit.
My husband and I did exactly that and invited candidates over to chat. The ward councillor candidate that stayed for two hours and explained the 10-year history of a specific questionable development at our request got my vote.
I try to do my part by sharing stories of Angus news I happen to write for BarrieToday in the community Facebook groups, to add a little verified news into the discussions.
About two weeks ago, I was speaking with a communications co-ordinator for a major institution in Barrie about something to do with her organization. At the end of our conversation, she said something that took me aback.
“Just wanted to let you know, I live in Angus and I saw your recent stories on the outbreaks there. Thank you so much. I appreciate you doing reporting there,” she said.
It took me aback because I’m used to Barrie commenters who are, frankly, spoiled by local news outlets coming at them from every direction between print, radio, TV and online. The comments I get from them are typically along the lines of “Hey you fearmongering AMATEUR, why don’t you try reporting ACTUAL NEWS for once?! #FakeNews”
Kindness from a commenter? I rarely know her!
So I suppose my message is, if you are lucky enough to live in a community that has even ONE news source dedicated to local news happening in your specific town – such as Barrie, Collingwood, Midland, Innisfil, Bradford or Orillia – cherish that coverage.
Think about how, if they didn’t exist, you’d have no one with an investigative background to keep tabs on your local politicians, find out actual, real information about new developments in your backyards, share verified details about why the playground across the street is taped off, or why a school isn’t being built where you think it should be, or where you can go to get some good, local grub.
Otherwise, you’d have to rely on your local Karens for tips and have politicians over for tea, and who really has time for that?
Jessica Owen is a general assignment reporter with BarrieToday and CollingwoodToday who also covers beats such as education and Simcoe County council. She also occasionally covers stories in Angus.
